When Things Get Messy

I am getting more and more proficient in my job as an expo person at the restaurant where I work. More and more, the management has been allowing me to develop my style and jumping in when it gets a bit too crazy for comfort. I enjoy the pace and the challenge that come along with the multitasking and importance of this position, and overall I feel confident in my consistent level of performance and improvement. That said, things can get "messy". I was working with my new manager yesterday, and she's great, but we hadn't worked together and we ended up confusing each other a bit. Tickets were left with food in the window and we were kind of stepping on each other's toes a bit, but eventually, we worked through it. We really started cooking as she was passing out "to-gos" and I was working the window while my awesome friend Patrice was getting the food out to the diners and taking care of that end. I called for our Roasted Potato Soup which is very popular and delicious, and our BOH man brought it up. Seemed fine. My manager than realized when ladeling a scoop that there was an icy mass in the soup, indicating that the guy had brought up the wrong one, and it was still cold!! This made for a haphazard period of time where we had to compromise by microwaving individual portions of soup, and where the window and computer screen filled up and got jumbled, which is an experience I can only explain as the feeling when playing Tetris when you are near the top of the screen and all the blocks stack up crazily and it's pretty much "game over".

I explain this event because often times in our lives we may feel that things are a bit confusing at first, right? But you know that as long as you stick with it and figure a plan and execute, you are fine for the most part. But just remember, things will get messy. You will have "ice in your soup" from time to time. You will feel like your Tetris screen is stacking up and there is little you can do to avoid the "game over" feeling. Maybe so. But this is life, and until it is truly "game over", you can't "try again" with a new screen. We must learn to rearrange the blocks as best we can and learn as we go, and eventually we will be able to line the blocks up and work our way back down the screen. Follow me? (If you have never played Tetris then you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about so I'm sorry! lol!) You can do it. We can do it. Stick with it people and when things get messy, lean on your support system, breathe, and be confident in your abilities. Thanks for reading everyone!